burrp! Stats
- 3 Reviews
- 2 First to review
- 1 Place Added
- Been to 3 Places
- Burrping since Oct 10, 2007
- Burrping fromMumbai
Personal Stuff
- Occupation
- Media Sales
- Favourite Books
- mostly into bestsellers. currently reading the latest by David Baldacci
- Favourite Music
- listen to pretty much everything. if i like it then i listen to more in the same genre. Rock is what i listen to most of. Karaoke freak that i am, really enjoy going to places where i can sing and hear other singers.
- Favourite Drinks
- rum n Coke when weather permits, otherwise vodka-tonic and cold beers on hot days :)
- Favourite Movies
- there is no way i could put down a single favorite but i love action, thrillers, spy movies and comedy movies
- Favourite Foods
- Indian, Chinese (Indian-wala), Italian, umm does bar food qualify as a cuisine?!!
Reviews by blackfayth
Dec 20, 2007
Silver Craft, Pali Mala Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai
Good
A good place to catch up...
I must admit I was a little surprised to find there wasn't a review written on Soul Fry. I was there just last night with the Madman and me catching up with another buddy.
Soul Fry has been around for a while and is known for its mixed bag of dishes from Seafood to North Indian and even Goan style food. SF is a pretty small restaurant which has about 8-9 tables inside (air-conditioned) and outside as well. As you enter the restaurant's outer area, you will pretty much be assailed with the smell of the rotis/meat cooking away in the tandoor.
There is a tiny bar on the inside on the left. Recently the interiors have been given a fresh coat of paint and some tiling work has been done on one of the walls.
Onto the food - SF does not have a very extensive menu. Last night we ordered the chicken tikka (good), chicken lasooni kabab (subtly spiced & excellent), harnai bombil (bombil stuffed with prawns - good), sungta maria (prawns on toast - prawn was good but the toast was deep fried and you could taste the oil - not so happening) and some cheese naans (again good). Rounded off the meal with the tava prawn masala rice which was delicious as usual.
The beers were ice-cold which is always appreciated. Pint of KF will put you back by 100 bux. This meal for 3 with about 10 pints of beer cost us about 2K.
Soul Fry is a pretty regular haunt for us which is probably why we get some decent service. Although on the some nights it has not been upto the mark with us having to remind our servers about coming thru on our orders. However last night no such problems.
Monday nights are karaoke nights at SF which draw all the local and not-so-local crooners to the joint. while its a whole lotta fun, it might start getting to you as the night goes on because of the fact that there are 150+ people crammed into a room that probably can hold 50. The smoke doesn't help either and you might just end up leaving in tears :)
They also serve thali meals in the afternoons. Never had this but heard that they're pretty good.
I like this place coz its a bit pseudo-quaint. the food is usually good and the beers cold. For a quiet meal with friends where the ambience is low-key, this is the right place to go. And if you are a singing enthusiast like I am (karaoke freak is more like it ;) then a visit on a Monday night is a must.
Oct 27, 2007
Crystal Shoppers Paradise, Fifth Floor, Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai
Average
Good concept... but needs improvement
Altho i went to the Mumbai Times Cafe (MTC) last month, i havent been able to write a review on it till now...
MTC is located on the 5th floor of ... you guessed it - a shopping mall. It could be a wee bit confusing to first-timers as there aren't any clear directions to get to the place despite the fact that there were multiple yellow-coloured MTC signs all around the building. Anyway, you need to go around the back where there are 2 elevators and take the one on the left and head up. My usual partner in crime was there of course, the Madman along with our close friend O-Man who was down from Dubai.
Huge floor-to-ceiling B&W posters of people travelling the Mumbai local trains and such like greet you as you exit the elevators. There's an antique time-piece hanging over the entrance door which looked quite cool. As we entered the place, the first thing i notice were the widely spread tables. Felt great having that much space around our table. I must say it seemed like you were entering someone's living room rather than a cafe.
The menu was quite neatly done resembling a tabloid newspaper. It was a fairly extensive drinks (read - alcohol) listing. Being a cafe i would have thought there'd be a larger selection in the non-liquored beverage section but it was just basic variants of mocktails, coffee and tea. They should do something about that.
We ordered some starters (Nachos, Kebabs) which were just OK. The drinks were nice and chilled tho. Basic cost of a bottle of beer was Rs.200 (i think).
There's also an outside section which might be a nice place to hang out when the weather's a lot more pleasant than the evening we were there.
Overall this place is a good idea for a hangout. I think they'll probably get a lot more college-going types in here than an older crowd. While they did a few good things with the ambience like the B&W fotos on the walls outside and the ceilings inside, there's still a whole lot more they can do. The service needs to get a lot better. When i asked the bartender (probably the 3rd or 4th most-commonly-asked-question-to-bartenders) for a match, he looked at me like i was from the Planet W-T-F-are-you-talkin-about. The waiters also didnt seem to be on top of their game that evening. For some musical entertainment there was guy-girl duo singing pop/rock tracks as well.
All in all i'd come to this place again probably once more about a month down the line to see if things have changed for the better.
Oct 10, 2007
Taj Lands End Hotel, Bandstand, Bandra (W), Mumbai
Good
Nice chilled out place
I first visited the Atrium Lounge some 3-4 years ago and found it to be one of those places I really wanted to spend time in when I had more time. However it wasn't until a year or so ago till I started coming to this place pretty regularly with a buddy (his moniker on here is Madman) whenever we both wanted to catch a beer and he a cigar. I figured it was only fair that I write a review on one of my fave hangouts.
Located on the ground Floor of the Taj Land's End Hotel (Bandstand, Bandra West), the Atrium Lounge is quite appropriately named. It lies to the right at an elevation as you enter the main doors of the hotel. One of the reasons I really like this place is the quiet. and yes this is despite the band that plays here most nights of the week.
its nice and roomy and the high ceilings really lend to the generally chilled out feeling of this place.
the food served is pretty good. 2 thumbs up for the non-veg Club which is a sure-fire order most times we go there. The beers are ice-cold and they have a nice selection of wines & spirits in case you feel like something else. I see someone's mentioned the Wasabi peas which are fantastic although occasionally you might end up in tears if you bite into a "loaded" one. The service is always up to the mark although I think by now we've almost earned a better-than-good service experience considering the amount of times we go there. As for cigar lovers like Madman, they have a quite nice selection of cigars.
Finally it must be said, if you're economy-minded, then this place isn't for you, . A pint of beer will you leave you dearer by Rs.250 (incl. taxes). Thats perhaps the only reason I've given a rating of 4. The Blackfayth-Madman duo come here maybe once a week and then too its pure indulgence. Being a Bandra boy, I'm glad that there's a place like this for one to experience some great ambience, good music and a cold one after a long day's grind.
Cheers!